As the Pittsburgh Steelers continue to wait on Aaron Rodgers, they have met with a few of the top QB prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft. At the outset of the offseason, it didn’t seem like Pittsburgh would have the greatest chance to upgrade the position via draft with the 21st selection.
However, over the last month, players like Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Ole Miss’ Jaxson Dart have been talked about a lot more regarding the Steelers. If one of those two is on the board at the 21st pick, Pittsburgh could take advantage of it.
Should the Steelers use the 21st pick on a quarterback?
JAKE BROCKHOFF: NO QB
Make no mistake: The Steelers absolutely need to find their quarterback of the future. That said, the first round of the 2024 draft doesn’t seem like the most likely place to do so.
There’s a lot to like about Shedeur Sanders, but there’s no great chance he’s available at 21. Especially after Derek Carr’s shoulder injury was reported on Friday, something which could sideline him for most of the 2025 season and make the Saints’ need for a QB more apparent.
New Orleans has the ninth pick in the draft. Even before Carr’s injury was reported, they already felt like a possible landing spot for Sanders. The Browns and Giants have the second and third picks. Each of those teams has brought in veteran options recently. Still, they both need a long-term answer and could convince themselves that Sanders is worth it. And even if he starts to slide, another quarterback-needy team will likely look to trade up ahead of the Steelers.
After Cam Ward, who surely won’t be available, and Sanders, there isn’t another quarterback worth taking in the first round. Many people are high on Jaxson Dart, and he could succeed in the NFL. However, taking Dart in the first round feels like a reach. His footwork and lower-body mechanics aren’t impressive, he doesn’t anticipate things well against zone coverage, and he doesn’t throw off-platform especially well. These are things that can improve, but it’s not worth taking at No. 21.
The Steelers have a variety of other needs as well. Cam Heyward is only getting older, and there’s not much on the interior DL besides Keeanu Benton. Without a second-round pick, it feels like something they have to address in the first. Pittsburgh also needs to add a running back. Even a receiver could be on the table. George Pickens is heading into the final year of his rookie deal, and Pittsburgh doesn’t know what they have with Roman Wilson yet. Both options would be more worthwhile than a quarterback in the first round.
Of course, Aaron Rodgers ties into this, as he seems to do with every Steelers-related topic nowadays. He hasn’t signed yet or given us a reason to believe he will soon, but his most likely destination is still Pittsburgh. If he signs, the Steelers will get good quarterback play without using a high pick on the position.
It feels bad to punt the QB question to the next offseason yet again, but it just doesn’t make sense for the Steelers in the first round. Later in the draft, sure.
JOE CAMMAROTA: DRAFT A QB
Reading the tea leaves, it’s obvious the Pittsburgh Steelers are seriously considering a quarterback in Round One of the 2025 NFL Draft. That doesn’t mean they will draft a quarterback in the draft, but they should. It is April 12, 2025, and the Steelers still don’t have a starting-caliber quarterback on the team (sorry, Mason Rudolph). Even if Aaron Rodgers signs with the Steelers, that shouldn’t stop the Steelers from addressing the position in the first round in a couple of weeks. Rodgers is 41 years old. He’s a short-term Band-Aid, not a long-term solution.
The Steelers need a long-term quarterback answer, and the best way to find that is through the draft. This year’s draft class isn’t great, but it doesn’t need to be. The Steelers want to win as soon as possible, as fans, management, and players are getting antsy. The best way to accomplish that goal is by drafting a quarterback in Round One.
Drafting a first-round defensive tackle, wide receiver, or safety won’t increase the odds of winning a Super Bowl like drafting a quarterback will, even if Rodgers signs. Pittsburgh needs those positions for the future, but they can be found later in the draft. A good quarterback is much harder to find outside the first round, especially without a second-round pick.
If the Steelers are serious about building a contender, they should draft a quarterback this year. Shedeur Sanders, the consensus second-best quarterback in the draft, has a chance to fall to them. If he’s there, take him. If Jaxson Dart is available with the 21st pick, take him. If Jalen Milroe is there, take him despite his flaws.
Drafting a quarterback this year doesn’t preclude the Steelers from drafting another one in 2026 if that class is better. The NFL is a quarterback-driven league, and right now, the Steelers don’t have one for the future. They need to take as many swings as possible and hope one hits. It is much more likely that either Sanders, Dart, or Milroe will turn into a franchise quarterback than Rodgers or Rudolph will lead the Steelers to a Super Bowl this year.
Even if Rodgers wins Pittsburgh a playoff game for the first time since the 2016 season, what does that get you? A playoff win with an old quarterback and an aging defense means nothing with no successor in the wings. It would just lead the Steelers to have a draft pick in the late 20s, making it much harder to draft a top quarterback prospect. That puts Pittsburgh back at square one with an even older defense and no quarterback again.
Pittsburgh is in an endless cycle when it comes to the quarterback position as they try to win a Super Bowl with retreads—enough of that. Pittsburgh should take a shot to find their quarterback of the future in Round One this year. Best case? You get a Jayden Daniels situation, and the Steelers have their QB for the future. Worst case? You don’t like how he looks in practice, or he looks lost on the field, and you draft a different quarterback next year like the Arizona Cardinals did with Kyler Murray after the Josh Rosen debacle.
